The Greatest Desert Race Was Great For Ramona Teams
By Darrel Kinney

The riders pictured are from left to right. Marc Spaeth of Warner Springs, Danny Prather of Ramona, Mike Cafro of Carlsbad, and Levi Marana of Hemet. Not pictured, Dana Creech of Eureka. Photo courtesy of marc Spaeth

As the final checkered flag dropped for the last of an all-time SCORE record 234 official finishers in the 39th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, it was obvious that another incredible and colorful chapter had been added to the legacy of this race down the Baja California, Mexico, peninsula.

The 431 starters from 38 U.S. states and 12 countries represented the largest field in the history of the desert classic. They competed in 28 Pro and six Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.

The race was the season finale of the six-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series. Ramona's hard-charging Darren Hardesty's VW-powered AlumiCraft open-wheel desert race car won Class 10 in a time of 21:34:28, good enough for ninth overall in the race.

For Hardesty, it was his fourth SCORE Class 10 win of the year, having won his class previously at the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in January, June's Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and September's SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300. Helping Hardesty to the victory was his teammate Poway resident Mark Randazzo, who drove half of the race.

Check Point 7 race mile 724 Saturday afternoon just north of Loreto. Photo by John Jones

One of the many highlights of the second and third day of the grueling race was the record-setting motorcycle run by Ana Cody, 38, of Camarillo, Calif.

Cody became the first female rider to the event's history to ride solo to the finish line, covering the course on her Honda XR650R in 33:35:40.

"I have been through a battle. I made it. I've been riding since 6:30 Thursday morning. It was tough - the toughest SCORE race I've ever done. It's such an awesome feeling. I just said a little prayer to my former teammate that we did it and I wish she could be here with me. I've always wanted to solo it to La Paz," Cody said.

In the Pro ATVs Class 25, Ramona's Danny Prather took first place on a Honda TRX450R.

"That was an awesome course. Man, those rocks were gnarly. It was a good time. I just looked back and saw that I had a truck behind me. We just barely beat them. It was a perfect race. We changed a couple of rear tires to keep them fresh. All the guys did what they needed; we came here to win," Prather said.

Prather's teammates, Mike Cafro, Dana Skreech, Levi Marana; and Marc Spaeth from Warner Springs.

In the SPT ATV class, Jessica McCreary of Ramona, Craig Christy and Steve Malley finished an impressive third place.

"It was great. It was awesome. I've been down here every single week for the last few months to train. It paid off. For me, seeing the sunrise was really nice. That was the best part," McCreary said.

The Baja 1000 desert race will be televised as a one-hour NBC Sports special at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10.

Ramona Teams - Baja 1000 Finishes

Class 10 (Single or two-seaters to 1650cc, AlumiCraft-VW)

1st Place Number 1049 Darren Hardesty, Mark Randazzo,

Time: 21:34:28; Speed: 48.57

Pro Motorcycles Class 22

3rd Place Number 9X Dan Walsh, Chris Gunnett, Rob Gibson, Honda XR650R Time: 22:43:17; Speed: 46.115

Pro Motorcycles Class 22

7th Place Number 12X Dean Sharpe, Jesse Sharpe, Joe Desrosiers, Honda XR650R Time: 25:25:12; Speed: 41.219

Pro ATV's Class 25

1st Place Number 7A Danny Prather, Marc Spaeth, Levi Marana, Mike Cafro, Dana Skreech, Honda TRX450R Time: 22:37:46; Speed: 46.302

Pro ATV's Class 25

4th Place Number 10A Scott Prather, Alex Camanini, Carmen Cafro, Earl Thigpen, Honda SRP650 Time: 25:04:37; Speed: 41.783

SPT ATV

3rd Place Number 54A Jessica McCreay, Craig Christy, Steve Malley, Honda TRX450R Time: 32:56:06; Speed: 31.814